Both the U.S. Soccer Federation and the FIGC, Italian soccer’s governing body, have confirmed the Feb. 29 exhibition between their respective national teams in Genoa.

The game will take place at the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris, the home of Serie A clubs Genoa and Sampdoria and the site of four games during the 1990 World Cup.

Dubbed a “luxury friendly” by the FIGC, the match falls on the final FIFA international fixture date before the U.S. begins World Cup qualifying in early June, meaning U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann will have access to his full player pool.

“Obviously we are very excited to be playing a team of such high quality,” Klinsmann said Monday. “We are slowly trying to raise the bar for our team, and this is an awesome opportunity for the players to be challenged against one of the top teams in the world.”

Klinsmann spent the fall of 1997 playing for Sampdoria before moving on to England’s Tottenham Hotspur. The German striker’s brief spell in the Serie A didn’t go very well, and his upcoming trip to Italy is going to be even more difficult. The U.S., ranked 34th in the world and winners of just two of Klinsmann’s seven games in charge, will have its hands quite full against the four-time World Cup champions.

The Americans have won just nine games all-time against the eight countries that have claimed a world title. Italy, currently ranked ninth in the world, went 8-2-2 in ’11, its only losses coming in exhibitions. The Azzurri are preparing for next summer’s European Championship in Poland and Ukraine, where they’re drawn against Spain, Ireland and Croatia in the group stage.

That is the level that Klinsmann is trying to reach, and he’s not afraid of the losses that may occur on the way. He has said repeatedly that he is less concerned with results than with his team’s development and maturation. The coach eventually wants the U.S. to be able to compete with, and threaten, the top teams in the world. The only way to do that is to learn to play like they do.

During a conversation with Sporting News on the eve of his team’s game against France in early November, a 1-0 loss, Klinsmann said, “I really believe that the benchmark should be the international game. I’m looking and saying, 'The reason why Spain and Brazil, Germany, Holland are playing this way is because of these factors.' We can analyze the games and we can see it.”

What Klinsmann sees is a fast, transitional and proactive style of play. “That means I have to elevate the pace of the game,” he said. “When I elevate the pace, the speed of play, I need more physical speed, more sharpness, more mental speed, more reaction speed and this is a process. Now we’re coming back to all these different elements ... If you build a consistent approach to all the elements, I think we can get closer to the top 15 teams in the world and maybe have a better shot at beating them maybe three or four times instead of just one out of 10.”

Klinsmann now is in Arizona training a U.S. squad comprised mostly of MLS players for games later this month against Venezuela or Panama. Although only a few may feature against Italy in February, they heard the same message from their coach on Monday morning.

“This path is a path that is necessary, because it’s not my idea,” he said. “That’s how the best in the world play. They play proactively. They read the game ahead.”

Klinsmann will have his Europe-based contingent at his disposal for the game in Genoa, when he finally may be able to see Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan on the field at the same time. He’ll also likely benefit from the deployment of midfielder Michael Bradley, who was excellent in the Americans’ 3-2 win over Slovenia in November and is now a regular starter at Chievo Verona in Serie A.

The U.S. is 0-7-3 all-time against the Azzurri. They last met at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, where New Jersey-born forward Giuseppe Rossi scored twice in Italy’s 3-1 win. Rossi, who plays at Spanish club Villarreal, injured his knee in October and remains sidelined.

The Americans’ last visit to Italy was in February ’02, when they lost 1-0 in Catania. Donovan started that day as a 19-year-old. The U.S. also played Italy in both World Cups staged in the country. The Azzurri won 7-1 in 1934 and 1-0 in ’90.